Saturday, February 16, 2008

This past week I had a couple of firsts. I finally saw Umphrey's McGee, and I checked out one of LA's newest venues called Crash Mansion. The venue was nice. An upstairs area with a balcony and couches and plush chairs, bars throughout, they served food and they even had a back room where a second stage was set up with a band playing in between the main stage sets.

Lots of hard wood and laid out with a large dance floor. My first impression was this would be a great place for a Rave even though I've never been to one. Sure enough the music in between the sets was electronic and you had kids out on the floor dancing and I even saw a few glow sticks in the crowd.

That is when I realized this was not my usual crowd. I was probably one of the older people in the audience and was surrounded by what looked to be college aged kids. Umphrey's McGee is a jam band with a variety of influences covering everything from metal to bluegrass, and I even saw the connection with electronic music especially in the jam transitions.

I enjoyed their set although a college crowd with a GA dance floor might be something I pass on next time around. The jams were long, with some songs over 20 and even 30 minutes in length. They played about 2 1/2 hours with a small intermission. The highlight of the show for me was the encore where they did a mash up of Come Together by The Beatles and Closer by Nine Inch Nails. A very unique take on two classic songs.

Dub Trio opened and Big Organ Trio was playing the stage in the back room.

Dub Trio opened$ unfinished^ with Willie Waldman on trumpet and Stephen Perkins on percussion^^ with full band switch with Dub Trio* first time played; mash up between Come Together (The Beatles) and Closer (Nine Inch Nails), possibly similar to DJ Zebra